Category: leadership

“Effective leaders are motivated by why they started their business instead of the financial rewards. They strive to solve real industry and consumer problems coupled with the integration of employee and customer-centric philosophies in their culture. They are not me-too leaders, they are innovators.”

I hope you’ve had a great week! Read below for the EOW for today, Friday, October 6, 2017.

“When it comes to safeguarding the bottom-line, hitting the numbers is the only focus. This narrow thought process causes leaders to lose sight of what truly drives those numbers and that is their employees and customers. When employees and client satisfaction is made top priority revenue/profit follows.”

What is integrity? According to dictionary.com, integrity is “adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty.” Why is it important in business? Integrity in business is important because it builds internal and external trust amongst all the people that have dealings with the company.

Effective leaders “walk the talk”; in other words they do what they say. It is imperative that during the early stages of a startup that codes of conduct be established that convey how business will be done and how employees, clients and suppliers will be treated. Companies that have great cultures are avid believers of collaboration. They encourage employees to share ideas and work together to solve problems.

“Two heads are better than one but 7 heads are even better”

When your company is impacted by rapid growth it is often found that you lose touch with your employees, reaching targets takes priority instead of optimizing client satisfaction, and company values may become diluted as employees may start to do anything necessary to keep their jobs. Effective leaders implement department headcount caps of 170 or less, discuss company values, mission and strategy daily, and have employee-centric cultures.

For example, an automotive air bag manufacturer, Takata, wanted to cut costs so they opted for a cheaper material which resulted in a mass recall. Evidently, they increased their losses by not maintaining integrity in their product. There are many other ways to cut cost but keep quality and this showed their lack of consideration for their customers. They were more concerned about their bottom line. It is going to take a long time for them to build trust with those customers that they lost because of their poor judgment and poor ethics.

Nevertheless, it is important that leaders ensure that their employees understand and never stray from the company’s core values by discussing this matter daily. Customer satisfaction, internal and external respect amongst employees, clients and suppliers, and collaboration are the key factors that make for an enduring company. When employees trust their coworkers and leaders they work together as a team and protect the company from harm.

Today, I would like to discuss some alternatives to reducing costs during business financial hardships instead of mass layoffs. Strong and effective leaders build trust in their companies and see their employees as their second family sometimes even as an extension of their family. When employees become aware of financial troubles in the company their stress levels go higher than usual, their health may become impaired, and productivity is also affected. Laying off a plethora of people causes employees to lose trust and loyalty to a company. When employees trust their leaders they are less likely to move on to greener pastures because security, trust, and opportunity is integrated into the culture offering a peace of mind.

“When faced with financial troubles in your business try to see ways to cut costs, require/offer unpaid vacations to employees (4-8 weeks), and integrate an evergreen employment policy that stipulates employees will not lose their jobs if the company is facing financial troubles (hire the right people through rigorous hiring practices to ensure they are worth keeping). “

Through an expenses analysis you can identify expenses that your company can live without and requiring employees to take 4-8 weeks of unpaid vacations during hard times can also free up cash as well. However, the unpaid vacation should not be forced and only those employees that can afford to take time off should take advantage of this. You can also offer employees the opportunity to work from home as this will reduce your electricity bill.

Today I want to leave you with a short tip about enriching the jobs of your employees. What do employees want? You find the answer to this question by asking them! However, most employees seek intrinsic rewards.

“Employees want interesting, challenging work, and the opportunity to achieve and grow into greater responsibility.”

I hope you’ve had a great week. Today, I want to discuss client relationships. Ever been ganged up on by frustrated employees who felt betrayed by a manager that could not say no to a client’s unfair demands or bad treatment? If not, then lucky you!

“Effective leaders know when to say no to a client that makes unfair demands and encourage their employees to speak up if a client is treating them badly. However, they make it clear that bad-mouthing a client is never acceptable.”

Have a great weekend! As always remember, “Success is continuous improvement.”

I hope you had a great week. This week I’ve been discussing employee to manager transitions with clients and the problems they have encountered with the newly appointed yet inexperienced manager. You may have witnessed an employee that has been promoted to a managerial position lose their shine as they demonstrate that they don’t actually comprehend the position. Before they were task driven and now they have to think and act strategically. Below I have noted the top 4 struggles that inexperienced managers face:

Inability to empower others

Poor delegating: Lack of trust of staff to complete tasks

Little or no constructive feedback given to staff

Lack of focus and/or skills in strategic thinking

Early manager to employee support and coaching in the inexperienced manager’s early years in the company is the best course of action in molding effective managers. Employees do what they see their managers do so make sure you walk the talk!

“Effective leaders encourage employees to solve problems on their own coupled with cross-functional department collaboration. They also provide mentorship and/or coaching programs that enhance and educate employees on how to improve their leadership styles.”

Motivating employees effectively takes thorough understanding of what truly motivates them and yourself as the leader of the company. Effective leaders communicate performance expectations and goals clearly. It is more than just a reward for getting a big client or exceeding/meeting a goal. It is about clear expectations, communication, regular feedback and performance measures.

The First step in your employee motivation process journey should be to set realistic goals and standards, develop checkpoints to measure progress, create measures of performance to measure progress and encourage innovation.

The Second step, emphasizes the importance of communicating effectively by imploring that goals and objectives are communicated clearly, resistance to change is handled diplomatically, employee concerns are heard and solutions are developed quickly, you as a leader inspire cooperation and commitment, and the brainstorming of new ideas is encouraged.

The Third step, delves into the regularity of employee feedback. It is critical that a feedback system is established along with timely feedback, constructive criticism and the proper managing of conflict.

The Fourth and last step is about the development and reporting of performance metrics. This involves setting priorities, approving solutions, encouraging continuous improvement by providing educational and training opportunities, managing differences, and providing timely recognition and rewards.

In short, stay abreast of the needs, concerns, and accomplishments of your employees on a daily basis. Your employees are not just seat fillers nor numbers; make an effort to get to know them on a personal level. Take the time to verbally appreciate them everyday and showcase your own motivation.